Increased weight in individuals, including obesity, has become an epidemic health issue around the world. Obese and overweight individuals develop, at an increased rate, diseases such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, and cancer. Consequently, obese and overweight individuals now exhibit a reduced overall life expectancy. Haslam D W and James W P, “Obesity” Lancet 2005;366(9492):1197-209. Unfortunately, these weight-related issues are now also being observed more commonly in children.
Treatment of obese or overweight individuals can include improved diet and physical exercise. However, efforts to diet and exercise are not successful for everyone. Sedentary lifestyles, ready availability of poor dietary choices, genetic risk factors, and stress all can make it difficult to lose unwanted weight. Medication has offered avenues to lose weight by, for example, reducing the absorption of fat that has been ingested in the diet. However, drug treatments may only result in modest weight reduction, can include deleterious side effects, and may not have a beneficial effect on the long-term issues related to increased weight e.g., diabetes, cardiovascular disease, etc.
Some individuals opt for surgery to lose weight by, for example, reducing the size of the stomach or reducing the length of the bowels. However, complications from surgery are frequent and behavior modification is needed to enhance the likelihood of a successful outcome. Encinosa W E, Bernard D M, Chen C C, and Steiner C A, “Healthcare utilization and outcomes after bariatric surgery,” Medical Care 2006;44(8):706-12.
In addition, those individuals who do not fall into the overweight or obese classification, characterized as a body mass index (BMI)<25, World Health Organization Technical Report Series 894: “Obesity: Preventing and Managing the Global Epidemic” Geneva: World Health Organization (2000), can also benefit from reduced body fat. These so called normal weight, or even under weight, individuals may desire improved physical performance and appearance resulting from decreased weight. In this category of individuals, the treatments for weight reduction differ from the obese and overweight individuals and primarily rely on physical exercise and diet rather than medical or surgical treatments.
Nutritional supplements are one method of weight reduction used by individuals regardless of weight classification. Numerous types of supplements exist affecting different factors related to weight loss. Certain supplements are aimed at, for example, appetite suppression, decreased nutrient absorption, or increased metabolism. However, these supplements often possess potential problems and harmful side effects of their own. Supplements intended for reducing appetite may not work as intended because the neural basis of appetite is not fully understood. Supplements for blocking absorption of dietary fats may cause oily stools, stomach pain, and flatulence. Metabolic stimulant supplements can carry a risk of high blood pressure, faster heart rate, palpitations, closed-angle glaucoma, drug addiction, restlessness, agitation, and insomnia.
There is thus a great need for a weight loss composition that facilitates fat burning and/or weight loss, while decreasing the side effects known to be associated with other weight loss methods and compositions.